Last week I washed my trusty ipod shuffle and the poor thing didn’t feel like turning on again.  Without a workout ipod I was slowly but surely going the way of lethargic.  I decided to check out the Nike + website, after hearing about it on a commercial.  I already bought compatible shoes without meaning to, so I went the rest of the way and bought an ipod nano and the little sensor that goes in your shoe.

Now I’m not trying to sell anyone anything, I’m just very impressed at how well this little thing worked.  I just got back from my first run with the device, and let me tell you how nice it was.  Not only could I listen to my own high-energy music, but a soothing female voice politely turned down the music and gave me updates on my progress every five minutes.  Getting closer to my goal of 45 minutes, of course the updates get a little more frequent.  One of my biggest problems here is there’s no set courses near where I live and I don’t always remember when I’m half-way done so I can turn back around.  Of course with this nifty gizmo I got a very friendly reminder that I was halfway there.

I think one of the nicest things is it also interfaces with a personalized website so you can track your progress, see where you tend to tire out, that sort of thing.  If you want to take a peek at my first attempt click here.

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‘Tis the season for fun themed Christmas parties!  So far I’ve been to a “Cereal Party” and a “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.”  The cereal party was my friend Gus’ attempt to get rid of cereal he had bought in bulk by inviting a bunch of friends over.  I’m not going to lie, I went through a box of KIX all by myself.  The second party was the brainchild of my friend Stefen and my lovely girlfriend Kanako.  Only 4 people participated, but it was good fun anyway.  Note to the wise: if you’re looking for an ugly Christmas sweater, don’t waste your time in the men’s department.  You can see photos of both shindigs by clicking the flickr link on the right side of the page.